American Politics

Will is a conservative commentator and regular contributor to "Newsweek" and "The Washington Post." He has just published a collection of his best essays from the past four years, "The Leveling Wind: Politics, the Culture & Other News 1990-1994." He talks with Terry about last week's elections.

Washington political commentator Elizabeth Drew, author of "On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency." The book examines Clinton's first eighteen months in office. She talks with Terry about last night's election and what it will mean for the White House.

"Wall Street Journal" senior writer Jane Mayer is co-author of "Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas,: She and fellow journalist Jill Abramson, investigated sexual harassment allegations against Thomas made by Anita Hill. They found other women who had had similar experiences with Thomas, but who were never called to testify. They wanted to write an objective account of the process, and they bring their harshest criticism on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Journalist Steve Roberts. He's the senior writer for "U.S. News & World Report." Before that he covered Congress for "The New York Times." He'll talk about Tuesday's elections.

Congress has decided to conduct a study of the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in the post-Cold War world. The agency suffered a shake-up following the discovery of the double agent Aldrich Ames. Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner writes about the CIA for "The New York Times." He talks with Terry Gross today about what changes may take place in the agency as a result of the investigation.

Activist and preacher Jim Wallis is the editor of "Sojourners" magazine, and the author of the new book, "The Soul of Politics." In it, he asserts that "the world isn't working," and neither the liberal left nor the conservative right know how to fix it. Wallis says the solution will come from a new morality that combines social justice and personal responsibility.

Editor, author, and Jewish theologian Michael Lerner is founder and editor of "Tikkun" magazine, a bimonthly Jewish critique of politics, culture, and society. In his new book, "Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transformation," Lerner presents a new interpretation of Jewish texts and history, and a new approach to God and prayer.

Former First Lady, Barbara Bush. She's written her memoir, which she describes as a story of a "life of privilege." The book chronicles her early life, her marriage to George Bush during World War Two at the age of 19, and the political path that took them to the White House. She also writes about a depression she fell into in the mid-1970s in which she wept each night in the arms of her husband, and had thoughts about crashing her car into a tree or oncoming auto. The depression finally lifted on its own.

Schorr is the Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio. He was the CBS Chief Watergate Correspondent, and is now narrating a five-part BBC documentary, "Watergate." After ending up on Nixon’s "enemy list," Schorr resigned from CBS in 1976, and wrote a book about the Watergate scandal called "Clearing the Air." Before joining CBS, he was a foreign correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and The New York Times.

Stewart Udall served three terms in Congress, and as Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He is the author of a new book, "The Myths of August", (Pantheon) which chronicles his struggle as one of the first lawyers to represent thousands of Americans who were injured or killed by the testing of atomic weapons. Udall spent years investigating and litigating cases filed by Southwestern families who had been harmed by atmospheric testing of atomic bombs, and by families of Navajo men who developed lung cancer after mining Uranium for the Government.